TheDude

Ironic and pathetic at the same time. Nothing ironic or pathetic about it. The list of impact bats that satisfy this crowd is usually 5 players long at most, so it's pretty darn close to a no-win situation people put him in. Floyd for one year is a nice addition. If Floyd is the impact player you are looking for the Cubs to get. Then you have some pretty realistic expectations. I fixed it for you.

Ironic and pathetic at the same time. Nothing ironic or pathetic about it. The list of impact bats that satisfy this crowd is usually 5 players long at most, so it's pretty darn close to a no-win situation people put him in. Floyd for one year is a nice addition.

Some people on this board need to get perspective. Not every deal has to focus on a superstar. Floyd's recent seasons are near his career norms, which are very respectable: .281 .361 .494 .855 Sliding Floyd's left-handed bat inbetween Lee and Ramirez sure looks good to me.

You don't think they could have gotten more than a bottom of the rotation pitcher for him? I'm not a Casey fan, but the guy can hit. He's the closest thing in baseball today to Mark Grace Jr. Casey was a highly mediocre 1B. He plays in a hitters park, in a division with mutiple hitters parks, and he hits like a second baseman. I wouldn't think there's much of a market for such a player. Exactly. Mark Grace Jr, especially if you consider they're both decent fielding 1Bman on top of the light hitting part. Not quite Mark Grace II, but Mark Grace Jr. The only place where we differ is I think there is a decent market for a guy who you can be reasonably sure can hit over .300 with an OBP overb .350, likely over .360 or so. If Cincy ate maybe 2 mil of his contract, they could have gotten alot better, which if I were them, I would have. I think you're lower on this Williams kid than the league is. He isn't a front-end starter, but he is servicable in the everyday rotation. 2005 looks like a setback for him, but 2004 had pretty solid numbers if you look beyond ERA. Like Goony, I don't believe there was much of a market for Casey. Teams want more power out of 1B, and most teams can only live with Casey at 1B if they produce heavy elsewhere in the lineup from a non-traditional power spot. I actually think the Yankees was a good spot for him, but that's just me.

Their team is going to be so crappy in 3 years. If they dont win a title before 2009, strip mining their system is going to kill them, and it's won't be pretty. Why? Victor Diaz age 23. Xaviar Nady age 27. Beltran age 28. Wright age 22. Jose Reyes age 22. Those are projected starters in the everyday lineup (except Nady). That is a young core of guys. Not only that, but the Mets did move Cameron and Benson for younger talent, so it is not like they have been giving away talent with every move. Any they were able to keep Milledge in all this dealing, no?

Not true. Aaron Miles, Clint Barmes, Neifi Perez or any of the other guys they've had in Colorado with little to no power have incredible surges in offensive production due to the size of Coors Field. HR's actually aren't all that much higher than other parks, if I recall correctly. The thinner air doesn't just affect how far you can hit the ball. It also affects pitching. Pitches move because of friction with the air. Less dense air=less movement on the pitch. Curve balls and sliders move less. Knuckleballs? ha! Fastballs with nasty movement become meatballs. Right. Coors numbers has just as much to do with pitchers losing stuff than it has to do with "thin air" causing the ball to carry.

At age 25, and with the Cubs not looking to produce a RF from the farm for some time, I go with Player E.

The Reds actually did something smart. Casey may have been the heart and soul of the team, but it only takes a few months for people to get over that and root for what they have. Now the OF is unjammed and the team can keep Dunn, Mo, and Kearns.

I'm at work and don't have the time to read all 14 pages to this point - was it clarified as to whether it was 3 pitchers or 2 going to Florida? Regardless, I'm happy. Filled CF with a very respectable lead-off hitter and none of the major minor league names were included. The Beananites may not love him, but the old school does. Here's hoping mister stolen base comes to ST again this year to work on Pierre's read of the pitcher. See if he can't help get Pierre's SB% up to 80.

So you're saying the team shouldn't pull the trigger to fill one of the holes because there are too many holes to fill? Isn't that an infinite loop of indecision?

There is only one SS in baseball with a higher salary than Furcal. Furcal is talented, but clearly not the 2nd best SS in baseball (nor is Jeter the best at his salary). There is no way possible to claim the Dodgers got him at or under market value.

Terrible piece. Just crap. The reliever marker is what it is - Hendry paid what was necessary for established bullpen help. Personally I think bullpen pitching is completely hit or iss and always should come from within, but the within kids weren't stepping up. Nobody was ever a serious player for Giles. He evidently wanted to stay in San Diego afterall. Can't fault Hendry for that. And passing on Burnett is wise. Grade so far - too early to tell

I don't think it's a matter not liking him. I think it has more to do with Hendry trying to build his team, which is likely pitching and defense. Nomar and Walker are certainly both offensively qualified and improve this team offensively, but Hendry doesn't want to go that direction, otherwise he'd just sign Nomar and let those two man the middle.

Yup. Don't ever doubt that franchise, btw. They always know whats going on. Cubs could learn so much from Schuerholtz and Jocketty. I would say the Cubs should learn so much from them. But after watching more than a decade of MacPhail's system, I'm not so sure they have the ability to learn any new tricks. In the 90's the Cubs set out to emulate the Braves, building a team that was entirely based on the pitching staff. I think they ignored the part where Atlanta kept developing top notch offensive talent from within their own system, and they didn't do a very good job of building a reliable pitching staff either. It's been a decade with this regime, and the results speak for themselves. Moderate progress coupled with serious setbacks and major disappointment. It also helps to have a few things "go your way". Mismanagement is legitimately coupled with *every* single major pitching prospect suffering injuries and setbacks within the Cubs system or just not developing as projected. A few years ago you could look at the Cubs system and, through rose-colored glasses, see five potential 1-2 starters in the rotation (Wood, Prior, Zambrano, Cruz, Guzman) with others waiting in the wings (Sisco, Wellemeyer). Not excusing the management. Perhaps there are issues with minor league pitching development and other factors. But the management should get credit for legitimately stocking the system high ceiling pitching.

how do you know what they will get for pierre? so far there are only rumors as to what he will cost and the rumors this year have been totally bogus to this point. Because of market perception and supply and demand. A whole lot of folks need a CF and there are only a few names really being tossed around (Damon, Pierre, Lofton, Bradley, Finley). Of the names being tossed around, Pierre probably is perceived as the best alternative behind Damon (except of course the by the Beananites). Therefore, like Stark mentions, it is entirely possible the Marlins will sit back and let teams outbid each other and overpay in the end, which they did not do with Delgado, Castillo, La Duca, etc. [edit - Goony I wasn't trying to repeat your observations or steal your thunder. Your post wasn't there when I started my reply.]

Williams is probably a tier below all of those guys right now, except Wang. And none of them is a 1-2 starter in the MLB right now, though Bedard and Backe have the best chances eventually IMO.

I'm a little miffed at the Marlins at right now. I don't understand why Castillo and La Duca can go for a cheaper price than Pierre. I also don't understand why the Mets (in the same division) get a cheaper price than the most of the rest of the league. It really stinks that out of the Marlins break-up the only guy the Cubs pursue is going to be the only guy the Marlins get more in return than the players are worth.

Nixon is Plan Z Surely we can do better than him. What's wrong with Nixon? If a .366 OBP and .855 OPS aren't quality enough, you're shooting way too high. Nixon is a solid option for RF.

Here is how it works: 1. One cannot blame Hendry for '04 or '05 becuase of injuries and bad luck. 2. One cannot judge Hendry's off-season until the offseason is over 3. Once Spring Training starts one cannot say he had a crappy off-season until after the 06 season 4. After the season, see point one and add in '06. And so it goes. Here is also how it works: 1. Fans can somehow completely disregard player choice/feelings when evaluating the GM's ability. It's Hendry's fault for not pursuing and signing Giles or Matsui, etc. 2. Fans can ignore attempts to fill a hole if the hole doesn't work out. It's Hendry's fault for not fixing the bullpen the past several years despite signing/acquiring several marquee relievers in his tenure that didn't pan out. 3. Fans can asume Hendry sits on his hands instead of making offers regarding their preferred guy. It's Hendry's fault team X accepted the offer from team Y instead of the Cubs offer. It goes both ways.

I'm not wholly convinced that "fire sale" is the right term for what is happening in South Florida. They are definately deconstructing the team, but fire sale usually carries with it conotations of less than appropriate return value. If you put together a list of all the young talent that team has acquired, even if only 50% pan out at the big leagues, they are 2 years removed from the 2005 Indians.

There is this annoying little thing called player choice. Numerous reports have stated that Hendry did ask Nomar to play LF, and that Nomar said basically 'no thank you'. If Nomar had said yes, several writers have indicated a deal would have been done already. It isn't always Hendry's fault for not pursuing/acquiring the public's desired target. The players have a say.

To be honest, I want to know what type of prospect is being discussed. If it is a position player with ML potential, then it might be worth considering.

Roger Clemens is 9 years older than Pedro. How is that working out for him? This idea that 34 year old players are washed up is just rude. The fact is that Pedro has learned to be a different kind of pitcher in the last 2 years than he was in the late 90's, and he is still very capable of dominating a game. The Mets pitching is respectable. But a 1-5 of Reyes, Beltran, Ramirez, Delgado, and Wright is downright terrifying.

I had predicted early on that Walker would be used as trade bait to snag a quality middle reliever. But with the Howry and Eyre signings, it now makes a lot of sense that Walker would be moved for CF/RF. I could live with Bradley. Not a big fan, and it is a gamble to assume he reverses a negative trend on the field and off, but it opens up 2B for Ronny Cedeno to play everyday.

Those people are probably looking at his K rate. I think he would be a fine placeholder for Pie for the next couple of years. Believe it or not there are people who don't eat, sleep, and breath OBP as the final bastion of baseball batting glory. Wilkerson is a very respectable player but not a difference maker. He's a glorified Bellhorn who puts up 60 XBH, .350 OBP, and 150 Ks.